Lost in the Shuffle
by Bruh Studios
Summary: [Oneshot] Being on a team doesn’t always mean one feels as if they’re part of it.


**Lost in the Shuffle**

Morning sunlight poured in a bank of windows lining the hallway, the sprawling city laid out in glowing brilliance for anyone wandering the passage. Strolling down the hall was a young woman, a tray held at her waist, a white mug resting on the platter. Soft humming floated in the quiet air, a slight smile turning the woman's lips, her jade eyes moving to gaze upon the morning's beauty. Pausing briefly, the humming was replaced by a disheartened sigh as the young woman caught sight of a speck of gray in the sky. "Looks like it might rain again," she groaned quietly, shoulders slumping forward.

The rattling of the mug on the tray brought her back to her task, a hand swiftly moving to catch the cup before it could tumble off. Releasing a relieved breath, her head turned from the windows, eyes spotting a familiar door. The young woman stepped across the hallway with the tray tucked against her stomach, coming to stand in front of the door. Sensing her presence, the door retreated into the wall, revealing a sparsely decorated, capacious room. At the opposite end of the space sat a large desk, a slightly older, raven-haired female seated behind it. "Good morning, Ms. Satomi," the young woman greeted lightly, a smile adorning her face.

"Morning Jesse," the other woman replied insipidly, her amber eyes never straying from a sheet of paper held in hand.

Traversing the spacious office, Jesse stopped by the desk, finding a gap in the clutter of papers to place the cup and saucer. Taking the silence as her dismissal, with tray held against her chest, Jesse began to leave. Halfway across the room Ms. Satomi's voice called out, "Hold on Jesse. I need you to do something for me."

Jesse returned to Ms. Satomi's side, leaning forward expectantly. "Take this down to Mark and have him get back to me with an answer as soon as he can," Ms. Satomi requested, offering the paper to Jesse, her usual stern gaze trained on the girl.

"Yes, ma'am," Jesse acquiesced as she tucked the paper against her chest.

Once again silence returned, Ms. Satomi moving her attention to her computer, Jesse quietly leaving. As the door hissed shut, the brown-haired girl sighed, dropping her arms to her side. Glancing out the window, she noticed the gray speck was now joined by a trio of others, but they still were nothing more than a dot in the vast sky. Below that, the city seemed to be in the midst of its usual morning rush. "Mark should be here by now. He practically lives here anyway," Jesse mused aloud with a hint of a giggle.

* * *

Polished double-doors slid open with ease, a cavernous hallway stretching out from the elevator. Jessie stepped from the elevator car, stopping to glance around the open space, the absence of noise leaving her slightly curious. Training her eyes forward she found the heavy doors leading to the workshop shut tight. Unsure if the closed doors signaled Mark's absence or if he was seeking privacy, Jessie walked to the imposing steel gates. Thumbing the open button and receiving a shrill beep, she stepped back, frowning upon the keypad. '_Where is he?'_ Jessie wondered with a furrowed brow, casting a glance over her shoulder. 

Finding the hallway empty, she let out a huff, her shoulders slumping as she headed back to the elevator. Tapping a numbered button, doors rolling shut, Jessie set her mind to work, trying to decide on her course of action. The gentle rise of the elevator passed without Jessie noticing, her face twisted in thought. Once again the doors open, a gruff looking man climbing into the waiting car, an eyebrow raised at the girl. "Oh, hey Andre," Jessie chirped, coming out of her deep thought.

The greeting earned little more than grunt from the coach as he leaned back against the cool wall of the car, closing his eyes. Enthusiasm slightly damped by the cool response, Jessie pressed her tray against her stomach, lowering her head. A light ding signaled the end of the elevator's journey, Andre shouldering off the wall and strolling out the open door, pausing briefly to make a request, "I'm going to need you to bring some videos down to my office for our next race."

With his message delivered, he moved off down the hall, leaving Jessie alone again. "Oh, okay," she spoke at Andre's retreating figure, turning to move in the opposite direction.

A few doors from the elevator Jessie found her office, manually opening the door. Cramped quarters greeted the usually cheery girl, a desk occupying a majority of the floor space. Dropping the tray and paper onto the corner of the wooden surface, Jessie brushed a few stray bangs from her eyes. With a tired sigh, she looked around the meager, yet tidy station, settling her gaze on a small framed photo. The image was her handiwork, a simple picture of her teammates taken soon after the previous season's championship win. Each face displayed an exuberant smile, something that brought a faint smile back to her lips. Grabbing the paper back from the desktop, Jessie ventured back out the door, "Let's see if I can find Mark this time."

* * *

Natural light slowly faded from the corridors of the Satomi building, a building army of charcoal clouds marching in from the horizon. As Jessie strolled down one such hallway, she allowed her gaze to linger on the darkening skies, her features beginning to mirror the worsening conditions. Snapping her gaze from the windows, eyes squeezing shut, she tried to dispel her own gathering storm. The emotional reaction baffled her, nothing the day had held warranted such a response she thought. Stopping suddenly, head bowed and fists balled, Jessie drew in a deep breath. "Get a hold of yourself," she ordered herself gruffly, revealing a steely gaze as her eyes opened. 

Soft crinkling drew her attention, head turning to find the paper creased within her curled fingers. Blowing out an exasperated sigh and drooping her shoulders, she offered the offended paper an apologetic smile. "You… okay?" a young man's voice asked tentatively, causing Jessie to bring her hands to her chest.

"T-Takeshi," she greeted with a startled breath, twisting around to find the handsome forward, with is usual disinterested look in place, standing alone.

Jessie could only muster a nod and a timid, "Yes."

With little more than a shrug, Takeshi casually ambled past Jessie, disappearing into the break room. "Jessie!" a sharp call rang out, the visage of the team's owner appearing in a doorway, "have you given that order sheet to Mark yet?"

Averting her eyes, the girl wondered how to inform her boss that she hadn't, choosing to meekly wave the sheet. "Jessie," Ms. Satomi said in an almost scolding tone, adding a stern look for emphasis, "I need an answer by three."

"Yes, bu-"

"No buts. Just get that to him A-S-A-P," Ms. Satomi nearly snapped, retreating into her office.

"Yes ma'am," Jessie could only sigh, '_If I could find him…'_

* * *

Small droplets of water began to fall, their pitter-patter filtering through thick windows, reaching Jessie's ears. Seated a step from the elevator, she watched the rain with a distant stare. Her eyes saw the falling drops strike the glass and streak down the smooth surface, but her mind had turned inside. 

Questions swirled and surged, battering the small island she found her mind residing on. She began to wonder if she truly had been blind to the happenings around her, to the way people talked to, no _at_, her. Was she truly the team's medical specialist, or a messenger, dispatched on a whim to deliver messages or retrieve objects? '_There just haven't been many injuries since I joined,'_ she tried to reconcile to herself, finding herself scoffing at the notion.

Resigned to the fact that her role to the team was minimal, Jessie pushed herself to a stand, absently folding the order sheet. Stuffing the quartered paper into a pocket, she moved to the elevator doors, pressing the down arrow. No sooner had her finger left the glowing button then the doors peeled open, revealing a stocky man clad in a tan mechanic's outfit. "Hey," he greeted the girl warmly, exiting the car and pausing by her side, "some weather we're having outside."

Noticing the distant stare and slight downturn of lips, the man stepped closer, "hey, what's wrong?"

Jessie simply removed the folded piece of paper from her pocket and pressed it against the man's slightly damp chest, "Here Mark, Miss Satomi wants you to look this over and get back to her."

With the message delivered, she entered the elevator and tapped the key for the ground floor. "Jessie, wait," Mark appealed gently, reaching out a hand as he watched the downtrodden girl disappear behind metal doors.

* * *

Pain, like a set of fingers slowly squeezing her heart, a sensation that flowed through her chest. Epiphanies weren't supposed to hurt, but this one was certainly leaving its mark. Tears wanted to flow, to carry away the pain with them, but as long as she was in the building she wouldn't allow them their escape. The elevator finished its decent, its doors opening at an agonizingly slow pace. Unwilling to wait, Jessie squirmed her way through the crack, bursting past a pair of now startled men. Her footsteps were quiet against the floor, but sounded like thunder to her, as she raced through the lobby. Striking a door with her shoulder, the glass and metal gate whipping open, she stumbled out into the steady rain. Shaky breaths came past her lips, a mixture of effort and emotion straining her breathing. "Dammit…" she sobbed, finally free to allow her tears to spill. 

Cool drops caressed her skin, soaking into her clothing, sending a chill over her skin. Folding her arms tightly across her chest, hands slowly rubbing bare skin, Jessie began to shiver. Her shoulder throbbed dull, aching from the collision with the door, a pain soon joined by her knees as they struck concrete. Physical pain gradually numbed, forced out by a sense of loneliness. '_They've used me'_ her mind wailed as her body rocked back and forth, '_I was never really a part of this team. Never part of the team…'_

Images of teammates offering smiles morphed into twisted facades displaying sinister grins and gleaming eyes. "No!" came a pleading cry, hands moving to clutch the sides of Jessie's head as it shook furiously, "No no no!"

As the last scream tore from her throat a warm hand pressed against her back. "Jessie!" a familiar, yet distant, voice called, the hand beginning to rub her back tenderly.

Fearfully the girl's tear-streaked face lifted, green eyes taking in the image of a man with a round face. His glasses were dotted with falling rain, eyes displaying a deep sense of concern. Unsure whether to bury her face in her hands or into the man's chest, she sat quivering, searching her rattled mind for an answer. The answer was made for her as strong arms drew her in, holding her tightly against a sopping shirt. Finding a hint of strength in the embrace, Jessie choked out a plea, "I-I don't want t-to be used an-any more. I don't want to b-be ig-nored."

Take aback by the plea, Mark feel silent, trying to work out what the sobbing girl in his arms meant. "Who's using you? Who's ignoring you?"

"Everyone."

Again he feel silent, mulling over Jessie's claims as his hands continued to rub her back. Things became clearer as he realized just how much his colleagues took the poor girl for granted. '_This is something I'm going to have to bring up with them,'_ Mark thought sullenly, glancing down at Jessie, speaking a pair of words that came to mind that she might need to hear: "I'm sorry."

End.


End file.
